8/11/2006

Asking The Right Questions...

A lot of my frustration with the press these days comes from their inability to ask good questions. In my opinion they are far to willing to let Dubya, Tony Snow, or any other mouthpiece du jour the opportunity to slip back into their comfy, cozy talking points about how fightin' terrah is hard work and how we're makin' progress, blah, blah, blah. Obviously, the daily press briefing is nothing but a joke. Good luck being able to dredge up Dick Cheney to address the myriad of unanswered questions facing him. I have a few questions I'd pose. For some of you, this one is a bit of a rerun, so I apologize.

Back in March, the president was in India. I saw a news clip about how he was going to lay a wreath at a Gandhi memorial. It struck me as odd at the time considering the vast gulf between how the two approached problems. They seem so diametrically opposed. I also know of the strict religious beliefs Dubya holds, beliefs that I feel often cloud his judgment. If I were in the press corps at the time, I would've asked this:

"Mr. President, do you believe that Gandhi is in hell?"

Now, let's examine his possible responses based on what we know about his religion.

If he says yes: Then he looks like a cruel asshole - or at least more than he already does. He would be saying that no matter how good a life you lead, if you aren't for Jesus, you ain't getting in. This is what I suspect he honestly believes. Most people in the world would be shocked.

If he says no: Then he is saying that NOT all non-Christians are hell-bound, something his "base" would be unhappy to hear. I suppose you could follow this up and ask "Then is he in heaven?" If he says yes, major problems. That means that non-Christians can get into heaven. If he says no, then he's not in heaven and not in hell. Where is he? At this point, I think Dubya would short circuit trying to figure a way out. Either way, most of his fundie friends would be shocked.

If he waffles and doesn't give a definitive answer: Again, his base is pissed. They think of him as a no-nonsense, straight shooter. There isn't a lot of ambiguity in the question. It's yes or no. Any sign of doubt on his part would be just as bad as saying no. Again, his fundie friends would be shocked at his hesitation.